User blog:ZeroTigress/How to Game Proposal
Ever notice how ideas posted in the proposals and suggestions section of official RO/RO2 forums rarely ever get implemented? Is it because the idea is bad or is it because the proposals and suggestions section is typically ignored? On the contrary, developers and publishers do scan through the proposal and suggestions section quite frequently. The problem is that the majority of ideas posted in there are written off as fleeting thoughts and not written well enough to be taken seriously. If you're serious about proposing an idea for RO/RO2 (or any other kind of proposal, related or not, for that matter), there are a few things you need to know about bringing your idea to life. Writing Your Proposal *'Treat the text like a legit business proposal'; no misspells or grammar mistakes. Talking like an uneducated teenager high with text chats and acronyms is a surefire way to get your proposal totally ignored by the people in charge. *'Be detailed yet concise with what you want to see implemented.' If you're too vague, your proposal will either get ignored or the developers/publishers will come up with stuff to fill in the blanks that may or may not be in line with your vision. The latter is definitely something you don't want happening unless you don't mind stressing out for a LONG time about getting those details changed to be in line with what you had in mind. Even if you're not confident that your idea will get implemented, it's better to be transparent about what you want instead of waiting to see what would happen before adding all the details. *'Address a problem your idea will solve.' Your idea has to contribute to making the game better in some way or else it gets tossed into the Ignore pile. Provide an explanation on why it's a good idea and why it would be beneficial to the game and/or the company's bottom line. The developers/publishers won't bother with an idea if it doesn't look like it'll solve an existing issue. A problem is a problem whether it is big or small so if your idea helps solve one (or more), elaborate on it. Very rarely will a proposal be considered without providing a benefit in some way. (Hint: MONEY!) Getting Your Proposal Implemented So the developers/publishers have taken notice of your well-written proposal and want to get it implemented. Your idea becomes part of the game, but wait! Something about it is not right. Good grief, they done gone and messed it up from what you envisioned! Not to worry, things can be fixed. Unfortunately you now have to deal with having your idea added on to the developers/publishers' already long list of weekly tasks and developmental duties. And since it's not an idea that they came up with, it's pushed down on the Low Priority section of their list. What can you do to make things right? *'Don't give up!' If you give up at this point, you're going to hate yourself for not doing more to make the current version of the in-game implementation in line with your vision. Not to mention members of the playerbase will continually credit you with the current version, which will irk you even more since it's not the version that's in line with your proposal. *'Don't go bothering the developers/publishers every day.' You'll start annoying them and even encourage them to push your fixes farther down the Low Priority section. At the most, only remind them of fixes to the in-game implementation once a week (every 7 days). They'll be regularly reminded of fixing the in-game implementation without you being too annoying. *'Maybe the mess-ups aren't as bad as you think.' Play the game and test out what's been implemented from your proposal and see what works and what doesn't. If you find that some of the changes work out for the better, that's one less thing to bother the developers/publishers about to fix. *'Collect feedback.' If your idea benefits the playerbase as well, create a thread on the official forums to see what your fellow players think. Go in-game and collect feedback from there, too, since not a lot of players frequent the forums. See how they feel about your idea and how aspects of it can be improved. *'Don't let others step all over you.' There will be players that are going to want you to change your idea to suit their needs. Don't promise to get every piece of feedback that gets thrown at you implemented just so people don't get angry at you. You may have asked for feedback, but that doesn't mean players are entitled to change your idea to suit their personal needs. Take ownership of your idea and make that clear to your fellow players. You went through a lot to get your idea implemented and it's not fair to allow others to piggyback off your efforts. If they want their ideas implemented, they can go through the same process themselves instead of using you as an alternative channel. *'Don't rage.' Chances are the developers/publishers will delay fixes to the in-game implementation from time to time if major updates get higher priority. You will get frustrated, but no matter what, do not allow your frustration to get the best of you and make you curse on a regular basis at the developers/publishers for delaying fixes. They are doing the best they can so you must be patient. Your vision will come to fruition eventually. How to Game Proposal